From December, as part of its Student Advantage programme, Microsoft will provide Office 365 ProPlus to students in schools, universities and polytechnics in New Zealand that licence Office for staff and faculty.

“The impact of Student Advantage for New Zealand students is going to be far reaching. We believe it will help address the country’s challenge of ensuring equity of access for all students to eLearning, as more than one million students will be eligible for Office 365 ProPlus under this new benefit,” said Paul Muckleston, Microsoft NZ’s MD.

The Office 365 ProPlus includes full Office applications and can be installed on up to five devices per person. According to Microsoft, schools can give students access to the same productivity tools used by leading NZ companies when they combine Office 365 ProPlus with the entitlements they receive through Microsoft’s School Agreement with the Ministry of Education.

The announcement comes off the back of The IDC Workforce Readiness Study, released today by Microsoft, which reveals the key skills that people looking for work in high-growth, high-salary jobs need.

The IDC study identified 20 of the most common skills in-demand for the top 60 high-growth, high-salary jobs of the future. Those skills include oral and written communication skills, detail orientation, Microsoft Office knowledge, problem-solving ability and organisational skills.

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